The present invention generally relates to a mobile winching system whereby a motorized winch and power source are mounted on a small frame that includes wheels, a handle, and a means for anchoring the winch system during operation. This mobile winch system provides a way to transport and operate a winch in areas that are otherwise inaccessible by traditional vehicle-mounted winches.
A winch is a mechanical device commonly used for lifting or pulling loads by means of a rope or cable that is wound around a cylinder turned by an engine, a motor, or by hand. A winch is typically comprised of a bi-directional motor, which drives a cable drum around which a cable is wrapped. One end of the cable is secured to the drum while the free end of the cable includes a hook or other hook-like device. A typical winch has a cable made of wound metal strands, rope, chain, or other similar material having high tensile strength wound around the drum. Thus when the motor turns in one direction, the cable can be fed outwardly, and conversely, while the motor turns in the opposite direction, the cable is pulled inwardly, creating a pulling force on the cable and the hook.
A winch may be used in situations where a pulling force on an item is required and the winch is relatively fixed with respect to another object. Typically, a winch can be attached to a vehicle such as all terrain vehicle (ATV), snowmobile, four-wheel drive vehicle and the like. The winch can be used in a variety of ways to provide assistance to the vehicle driver. For example, one end of the cable may be attached to a stationary object and the winch used to help move or extricate the vehicle from a stuck position. Additionally, one end of the cable may be attached to an object in order to hoist or haul it, or to remove an obstacle from the road in order for the vehicle to pass. Additionally, a winch may be used in tree rigging and removal whereby the winch is attached to a tree to facilitate pulling the tree in the desired direction in which to fall.
While the vehicle mounted winch has multiple attributes, the shortcoming is that the winch is permanently coupled to the vehicle, and the winch can only be used in conjunction with the vehicle, or where the vehicle may maneuver. Moreover, as the winches are hardwired and powered by the vehicle's battery, extended use of the winch can reduce vehicle battery voltage to below starting requirements and may strand the operator without sufficient battery power.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a portable system and method of operating a winch in areas inaccessible by current vehicle-mounted winches. Additionally, having an independent power source operating the winch avoids the problem of draining a vehicle battery. Further, it would be desirable to provide a small winch system that may be easily moved and handled by a single person, and which would be particularly useful for logging operations and other types of jobs that are necessarily located in remote places that provide challenges for positioning a vehicle with a mounted winch.